The Comfort Zone
by sodeepitsshallow
Summary: As if dealing with an overly flirtatious spouse and three children wasn't enough, the arrival of a fourth child plunges Arthur and the Kirkland-Bonnefoy household into further chaos. However this new Sydney from New Zealand isn't exactly who "she" seems.
1. Prologue

Francis pushed his reading glasses up the bridge of his nose and re-examined the document. Oh how he despised the adoption papers. They were seemingly endless and once he finished reading through one stack, yet another greeted him. He was currently in the process of looking over the birth certificate of Sydney Thorpe. After a visit to an orphanage in New Zealand, Francis and his spouse knew that this child was the one they should add to their family.

However the scourge that was paperwork and files would not disappear. _One would think after doing this three times one would be used to this_. His brow wrinkled in confusion at an anomaly in the paper. _ Surely this isn't accurate_. He turned to his husband "Arthur?" the studious Englishman titled his head in response to the question.

"Yes, Francis?"

"Do you think we can talk to Sydney Thorpe, mon cher?"

The Brit stretched and sat up, glancing at his watch "Sure, it'd be around 9 AM over there so she should be up."

Francis grinned and headed over to the phone to dial up the orphanage. Arthur gave him a quick peck on the check before heading up to bed. After a quick fight with the head of the building and a few transfers the Frenchman had Sydney on the line.

"Sydney?"

"_Yes, sir_?"

"This is Francis Bonnefoy, my husband and I visited you a few weeks ago. Would you mind answering a few questions?"

"_Regarding what sir_?_"_

"Are you aware that your birth certificate states that you are male?"

"_I am, sir_."

"Are you also aware that we had been given the impression from you and your caretakers that you were female?"

"_Yes, sir_."

"Would you care to explain why?"

"_Not really_." Francis heard an uneasy pause before a voice tinted slightly with fear and panic spoke. "_Does this mean you don't want to adopt me anymore_?"

Francis felt his eyes widen slightly in disbelief. He reassured her calmly "We are planning on adopting you regardless of your gender." He paused and heard a relieved release of air. "_But _I think it would help you if at least one person knew the reasons why you chose to conceal your gender." There was a long pause and the Frenchman refrained from saying anything to let Sydney sort out his thoughts.

"_So if I tell you – you promise not to let the others know_."

Francis hesitated, He would have to tell Arthur eventually but Sydney really needed someone she could trust. "I can promise that for now." A drawn out silence followed, "Well – your story?"

There was a small sigh on the other end of the phone. "_When I was little I used to be constantly picked on by bullies due to my, rather, feminine appearance_" a huff of air was heard on the phone but from distress or amusement at the memory, Francis was unable to tell._ "So my mom suggested that after we moved I pretend to be a girl. I think my mom always wanted a girl anyway._"There was a bitter laugh._ "Surprisingly the idea worked so I continued to cross-dress._" The voice grew slightly more high pitched and the words came out faster "_Eventually I just stopped trying to be a guy because I found I was better at being a girl_." After finishing the final line a noise that sounded suspiciously like a sob was heard.

There was a long pause in which nothing was said but the blonde waited to see if Sydney was done. In a detached voice he inquired "_Is that all you need sir_?"

"Yes, thank you Sydney. I'll be in touch." Francis sighed heavily as he put down the phone. He was in for a long conversation with Arthur. He padded lightly up the stairs to their shared bedroom, peaking in on his other children's rooms to check if they were asleep. However, once when he arrived in his love's bedroom Arthur was fast asleep and lightly snoring.

Francis silently slid into bed, drawing the comforter snug and smiling slightly when he heard him mumble something about 'flying mint bunnies.' He heaved another sigh. This discussion would have to be saved for the morning.

**AN: Um hi. Publishing on Fanfiction is new for me so if anyone who has read this has any suggestions for how I could improve my writing or questions about the story so far I would love to hear from you. Also I don't own Hetalia. Obviously. **


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, if I did I would have more of Australia and New Zealand.**

**AN: Adam = Australia, Sydney = New Zealand and Michelle = Seychelles. **

"Welcome to your new home, Sydney." Arthur adjusted his rearview mirror to view the child sitting quietly in the back seat. Hazel eyes calmly observed the townhouse's small vegetable garden and stone paved pathway.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered the fuss that had been made at home that morning. It had been months of finalizing papers before they had finally been able to take the New Zealander home and once the day had finally arrived Alfred, Adam and Mathew had pleaded to go along.

Fortunately Francis was able to help him persuade the kids that too many people would be overwhelming to the newest member of their family. Arthur did feel guilty that he couldn't bring his husband with him, after all Francis had been the one to complete most of the paperwork.

But when Arthur had arrived at the airport that morning he couldn't help but agree with his earlier judgment. The twelve-year-old child looked terribly intimidated that morning by all of the new sights of England. Her honey blonde hair had been re-cut since the last time he saw her. The new style was fitting; her short hair hung down with two buns curling on both sides. A too big pale blue sweatshirt was worn over a beige dress and in her hands she desperately clung to a stuffed sheep doll and she stood slightly stooped over from the weight of the large backpack she wore that contained her belongings.

Arthur was brought back to the present as he parked in the garage and helped Sydney carry her bags into the empty house: The other children were at school and Francis was at work. Arthur had chosen to take the day off to help Sydney get settled in. He opened the door to her new home and gestured her inside, she crept forward numbly as if all of the new sights she had witness has overloaded her mind. Arthur came up behind her, her belongings store in a bag gripped in one hand. Her eyes roved around the house as she trailed behind Arthur to her room.

He hefted the bag into the corner room cleared out for her and held out his arm in a presenting gesture. "Well, what do you think?"

The quiet girl surveyed the cozy looking bed, sturdy oak desk and over stuffed armchair and turned slowly to Arthur and a bright grin was on her face. "I think I can live with this D-Dad."

Arthur felt a matching smile grace his face as he internally sighed in relief.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Arthur pulled out a couple sandwiches that Francis had prepared earlier for his and Sydney's lunch and called her into the kitchen. He pulled out some apples and began to cut them before he realized Sydney had still not come downstairs.

His brow wrinkled in confusion and he headed upstairs to her room. He met her on the stairs. "What took you so long, don't you want some nash?"

Sydney peered at him in confusion, after blinking it off she responded simply. "I got lost, sorry."

Arthur's rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Bugger. I forgot you didn't know your way around yet." He paused when his stomach growled. "How about I give you a tour after lunch?"

She shrugged but offered a small smile, "Alright. What are we having for lunch?"

The two resumed their walk to the kitchen, "Some sandwiches Francis prepared, do you have any requests for stuff he pick up on his way home?"

Her face light up eagerly, "Can you have him get kiwifruits?"

Arthur chuckled and clasped her shoulder to prevent her from heading into the wrong room, "I'll give him a call and see." This time Sydney's stomach rumbled. She looked to the side and a faint pink dusted her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Food first."

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

After lunch, Arthur had attempted to give Sydney a tour but he was disrupted by the arrival of his other children from school. Adam and Alfred nosily bustled in and Mathew followed at a quieter pace. The first two were loudly exchanging jokes and hitting each other on the back. Arthur came out to greet them, Sydney hiding quietly behind his back. She cautiously peeped out to see her new siblings.

Mathew grinned when he saw her and raised one hand and wiggled his fingers in a little wave. Pink rushed to her face but she returned the gesture with a tentative smile. Adam and Alfred stopped their bickering when they noticed Mathew waving and both of their eyes locked simultaneously upon Sydney. She gave a small squeak at the sudden attention and dashed around the corner to hide. Arthur scolded the two for scaring her, and turned to coax her out.

However she quickly returned of her own will "I wasn't scared." She retorted firmly. Alfred chuckled and muttered something about 'spunk' to Mathew.

"Of course not, Syd." Adam asserted and moved to ruffle her hair affectionately. She irritably swatted his hand away but gave him a relieved smile at his acceptance.

Arthur frowned as he realized something "Alfred, how did you guys manage to get home so early? It normally takes you longer."

Alfred opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by the front door opening to reveal a girl with a tan and two ponytails being held in place by a set of red ribbons. "I gave them a ride." She came in and pecked Arthur on the check "Uncle Francis invited me over for dinner; I hope that isn't a problem."

"Not at all Michelle – you should know that you are always welcome here. Did he mention a specific reason?" Arthur inquired politely.

Michelle grinned and moved towards Sydney "Just that he wanted me to talk about a couple 'girl things' with Syd."

Adam bristled "But that's _my_ nickname for her." Michelle smirked and stuck her tongue out.

"Stinks for you – I called it."

"When?" he asked indignantly.

The smirk remaining the sixteen-year-old retorted smugly. "Just now, find your own." She took Sydney's shoulder "If you don't mind Uncle Arthur, I'll borrow Syd for a bit." Not waiting for an answer she steered the younger child up the stairs.

**AN: Second chapter done! Just to clarify Sydney is a guy but since most people are currently under the impression that he is female I am going to use feminine pronouns unless Sydney is in a situation where the key characters know that he is male. Sorry if that gets confusing. Sorry if there is any OOC-ness, please review to help me improve my writing.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Do not own. **

Upon reaching Sydney's room, Michelle took the child and directed her to sit down on her bed. Michelle turned around and firmly locked the door. As she moved to settle into the overstuffed armchair, Sydney gave her a questioning look.

"Why did you lock-?" Michelle cut her off.

"Uncle Francis told me."

Sydney's eyes narrowed in distrust and she crossed her arms defensively, "Told you _what_ exactly."

Michelle rolled her eyes, "That you are really a guy." She got up on the arm chair and moved closer to Sydney.

He shied away and drew his knees to his chest protectively wrapping his arms around them and burying his head in between. "What do you want?"

Michelle sighed and moved back a bit, "I just want to help." She cautiously placed a hand on his back. He flinched and avoided eye contact but he did not move away. "Syd, I know you feel more comfortable as a girl… I can assist you with the girl stuff."

"H'w s'?" Sydney inquired against his knees.

"Well," Michelle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I could take you shopping for feminine clothes. We could also talk about make-up and bras and the like. How does that sound?"

She felt Sydney relax under her hand and raise his head to meet her eyes. "Really?" he tilted his head suspiciously, "You aren't going to try to 'convert' me? Tell me what I'm doing is wrong?"

Michelle shook her head solemnly, "I don't know why you would chose to dress like a girl. But I do know about families." She held Sydney's chin and met his eyes. "You are part of my family now, and that means I support you no matter what." She shook him slightly by the shoulders. "You understand? No matter what."

She released the New Zealander and shrugged, "And when you feel ready to tell me what happened, I'll listen. Okay?"

Sydney nodded and exhaled shakily before leaning over to give Michelle a hug. "T'nk y'." He mumbled into her chest. After releasing her he sat back, clearly relieved.

Michelle clapped her hands in a business-like manner. "Now that we have that out of the way, I think we should have a girl's day on Saturday."

Sydney tilted his head in question, "What would we do?"

"I think we should get you some new clothes," She replied, nodding to his outfit. He glanced at it, giving her a questioning look. Michelle pulled a face, "It's that your stuff is bad, per se, it's just really bland. I think I could find you more appealing outfits." She shrugged, "and after that we could do each other's nails or something."

Sydney gave her a weak nod, "Sure."

Michelle grinned widely, "Excellent."

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

After coming back downstairs, Arthur finished giving Sydney the tour, shooing away Alfred and Adam telling them to work on their homework. The afternoon passed fairly uneventfully until Francis came home.

He proudly strode in the front door, baring a bag of kiwis in one hand triumphantly. "Ma famille! Je suis ici!" (My family! I am here!)

Arthur emerged from the kitchen to greet him, "English, love."

The children thundered downstairs to greet their father. Mathew reached him first gleefully proclaiming, "Papa, je suis content que tu sois de retour!" (Dad, I'm glad you came home!) as he embraced his father. Alfred and Adam followed grinning wildly, joining into the hug with Michelle shortly following. Sydney cautiously held back before Adam beckoned her to join in.

Arthur huffed, crossing his arms. "Enough with the French!"

Francis disentangled himself from the tight bear hug to peck his husband on the cheek, "Save it for the bedroom, non?" He winked cockily and Alfred pulled a face, lightly hitting the Frenchman.

"Dad, that's just nasty."

Francis chuckled, and clapped his hands in an abrupt manner. Sydney absentmindedly found herself wondering if Michelle had picked up that habit from her uncle. Realizing he was talking, she forced herself to concentrate.

"- and that's why I was late in coming home." Francis grinned and focused on the newest member of his family, "But fair Sydney I have your kiwis!"

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Dinner was a pleasant affair, Francis had chosen to make some traditional French dishes and conversation was light and friendly. A consistent effort was made by both Adam and Michelle to keep Sydney occupied and entertained.

The evening passed in an agreeable blur that made Sydney forget that tomorrow she was starting at a new school.

This unfortunate reality came crashing down on him as he lay in bed that night, staring at the contours of his ceiling. Sleep avoided him for many hours after this revelation.

**AN: This was really just a filler chapter, and I wasn't really pleased with it but more exciting stuff to come! I also wanted to thank everyone who favorited/story alerted/reviewed - it really meant alot to me and inspired me to keep working on this story. I was thinking of maybe changing the pronouns referencing Sydney to male, except in conversations where the people talking don't know the real gender. Please let me know what you think - will it make the story less confusing?**

**As always if you have questions, comments and concerns - TELL ME!**


	4. Chapter 3

**AN: Quick note on names: Alfred calls Francis Dad and Arthur Iggy, Mathew calls Francis Papa and Arthur Dad, Adam calls Francis Dad and jokingly calls Arthur Mum, Sydney calls them both Dad.**

"_Mommy, mommy look at me!" The five-year-old gleefully danced down the hall, whooping as he went and twirling around. He turned expectantly to his mother, seeking praise for his enthusiasm. His face fell when he saw his mother absent-mindedly staring out of a window, a blank expression on her face._

_He cautiously approached her, "Mommy?" he inquired, giving her well-worn cotton skirt a tug. "Mommy, are you thinking about Daddy again?"_

_His mother sighed and did not answer, but she bent down to hold her son, picking him up and bringing him close. The five-year-old pulled a face and reached to the corners of his mother's face, chubby fingers pushing up at the corners of her mouth in an attempt to erase the gloomy press of her lips. "Mommy smile!" he laughed at his ingenuity and added "Don't think about Daddy, he only makes you sad."_

_His mother replied coldly, "I don't care about that _man_." She snarled the last word, alarming the child she held. He cringed and tried to squirm free of the mommy turned monster that held him._

_She chuckled threateningly at his actions, "I see. So you find me ugly too?" The child looked at her with pleading eyes, silently begging this beast to go away and give him his mother back. "You think that you can lie and cheat and rob me too?" The child frantically shook his head, eyes watering; he knew what would come soon. "Well I've got news for you. _You're_ the messed up one." _

_The child shook even more, desperate to free himself. "You know what? __**You**__ were an accident. Yeah that's right, __a mistake__." The boy succeeded in liberating himself from her death grip and he ran, trying to escape. But he couldn't and in the end he was backed up into a corner, the unfamiliar lady leering at him. "You weren't supposed to be a boy." The woman recoiled slightly, giving the boy a chance to run. He remained rooted to his corner, dazed in fear. "I was supposed to have a beautiful baby girl." She looked at him with disgust. "But no." she shook her head and drew out the next words, almost drawling, "I got stuck with _you_." _

_The boy frantically tried to push himself farther into the corner. "I tried to make do – I gave you lovely clothes, I trained you…" She tilted her head thoughtfully, before scornfully swishing away, returning with destroyed garment after garment, waving each in the child's face. Dresses, skirts, tights, bloomers, blouses, and bows whirled past the boys face, each an identical picture of ruin. "And this" She gestured to the clothes "is how you thank me?"_

_The boy shrunk, bottom lip quivering "I'm sorry mommy, it was an accident."_

_The woman raised her hand and brought it down swiftly on his cheek. "Sorry isn't good enough, brat." the boy bit his lip and she snarled back, "Sorry won't fix anything."_

_The tears had finally broken past the lids as the child squeezed his eyes shut; twin drops silently streaked down his cheeks. "It won't happen again Mommy, I promise."_

"_That's what you said last time." She growled. "I think a more permanent lesson is necessary." _

"_No, please." He hopelessly sobbed._

_She sneered at him and did not reply, instead dragging the boy closer. The small child almost relaxed at the closeness but his tense form remained ridged. The woman pulled back, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Ready?"_

_The boy shook his head, words escaping him in his horror. _

_The woman ignored the gesture and raised her hand, prepared to bring it firmly down on the child's cheek. The boy's choked voice begged desperately, "Mommy, please, no." He tried to look pleadingly into her eyes, but she met his gaze with out flinching. "Mommy, MOMMY." His voice screamed as the wicked hand rained down blow after blow. His tears silently dripping down his cheeks as unbearable pain flooded his body._

"Sydney, SYDNEY." She awoke abruptly, shooting straight up with the nightmare leaving lingering traces of pain. "Sydney?"

Her eyes wildly scanned the room, mind racing to catch up with her. Slowly facts trickled in. She was in England. This was her new room. And the boy sitting beside her, shaking her? She squinted, the figure slowly coming into focus, brown hair, two ahodges and a bandage on the nose. Adam.

"What?" Sydney inquired, giving Adam a bleary response.

He reached out a hand to gently brush her cheek, swiping away tears that she hadn't realized were present. "Are you alright? I heard you scream." He stared back at her, eyes filled with concern.

Sydney blanched immediately at his words, jolted into a more awake state "What did you hear?"

Adam moved a hand to awkwardly stroke her hair in an attempt to soothe, "My room's right next to yours. I heard you scream about your mother."

Sydney flinched at the words and backed away slightly. She felt dampness coat her cheeks as the dreaded tears once again began to fall.

Adam noticed them and pulled Sydney into a tight embrace, hoping to rid her of the lingering nightmare. He rubbed small circles on her back and let her quietly weep into his shoulder.

After a few minutes of quiet, Sydney withdrew and wiped her eyes on her pajama sleeve. She pushed Adam back slightly, and narrowed her eyes. "You won't tell anyone." The question was turned into a statement with her determined tone.

Adam tilted his head in confusion, "About what?"

"My screams, crying." Sydney replied matter-of-factly, hazel eyes hold a promise of regret if he did blab.

"If you don't want me to…" Adam replied, rubbing the back of his head uneasily. Despite his rowdy nature, transparent honesty was generally something he valued.

"I don't." Sydney shifted slightly before leaning in to give the Australian a hug. "Thank you."

It was nice to feel loved.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Arthur grumbled to himself, _those bloody kids are going to be late for the bus_. He shouted at the closed bedroom doors, belonging to his children, "HURRY UP!"

Seconds later a flood of running children brushed past him as they headed down the stairs for breakfast. After more grumbling, Arthur reluctantly followed them, secretly anticipating breakfast made by Francis.

As expected the Frenchman did not disappoint. Truth to be told, Arthur had been rather unwilling to buy all of the culinary appliances that Francis had deemed "essential." But upon seeing (and tasting) the delicious results of a panini maker, the Brit eased up on his overbearing objections.

This morning's dish was rather simple, toast with eggs but with the classic homemade bread and jams, the simplicity was well compensated for. Arthur was pleased to note that all of the children were already changed into their school uniforms and appeared to be ready to leave once the bus arrived.

More rushing followed as the bus pulled in, dishes were thrown in the sink to be cleaned after school and Mathew, Alfred and Adam (dragging a disgruntled Sydney behind him) headed out to go to school, leaving the Brit to yell to a reminder to keep Sydney safe.

He then hurriedly assembled his papers into his briefcase, received a goodbye kiss from Francis as he left for the restaurant where he was employed, and hastily locked the house up and headed to the University.

**AN: I just wanted to once again thank those to who put TCZ in their favorites and alerted this story. *grins* I don't want to sound like I'm begging for reviews but I am. Please review, it motivates me to make faster updates. (Thank you to Just a Janus for reviewing) Everyone likes fast updates, right? *sigh* At least I tried.**

**Anyway next chapter Sydney finally starts school! YAY! Expect a bit of overprotective!Oz as well. **


	5. Chapter 4

**Katyusha ****Braginskaya = Ukraine**

**Eduord Von Bock = Estonia**

**Raivis Galante = Latvia**

**Karou Wang = Hong Kong**

After being ungracefully hauled on to the bus on which resided numerous loud and obnoxious teenagers, Sydney's patience had begun to dwindle. On the bus Adam kept shooting her his attempt at discreet, worried glances that possessed not even the slightest bit of subtlety. It had gotten highly irksome but she managed to avoid lecturing him on his rudeness, instead opting to avoid his gaze and dart off as quickly as possible once the bus doors opened, releasing its antsy children.

Regrettably her plan backfired, as she realized had no idea where to go. She looked around helplessly for a moment before she felt a hand on her shoulder. She twisted to meet the owner of the offending hand, and a grinning Adam met her gaze.

"Al and Mattie decided I should be the one to show you to the counselor's office," He rolled his eyes in a good-natured manner, "Since I seemed _so_ worried about you."

Despite his tone he gave her another look which she met with an irritated glare.

"There's no need to be concerned." she huffed, "As long as you get me to the middle school office, I'll be fine."

Adam opened his mouth to protest that he had every right to be concerned, but he noticed the stubborn set of her mouth and chose to let the issue drop for now. He ushered Sydney to the office, forcing himself to act lighthearted and joke around.

The two arrived and the counselor politely introduced himself as Eduord Von Bock. Adam left her in the office, shaking his uneasiness at leaving her alone in the unfamiliar place.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Sydney patiently followed the bespectacled counselor as he gave her a tour of the school. She noted carefully as he pointed out art rooms, bathrooms, classrooms, science labs and locker rooms (She shuddered at the thought of dealing with those) mentally creating a map of the building's layout.

She tried to pay attention, but she couldn't help herself from looking longingly at the high school across the road whenever they came near a window. Sydney was more than a little intimidated by starting in a new building with no people she knew. She yearned to be with her new siblings, but unfortunately they were in the high school and she was stuck in the eighth grade.

She stopped abruptly when she realized the counselor had stopped walking. He calmly directed her to her classroom leaving her at the door with "If you ever need help with anything you can visit my office."

Hesitantly, Sydney entered the room. The teacher greeted her warmly with a sweet smile. She noticed a slight bouncing noise when the teacher turned to the class. "Class this is Sydney…" The teacher paused for a moment, giving Sydney an inquiring look, unsure what last name to use.

"Kirkland-Bonnefoy." Sydney replied firmly, mentally adjusting herself.

The teacher gave her another grin, "Sydney Kirkland-Bonnefoy. She is from New Zealand and will be joining us for the rest of the year." She gestured to her self. "I'm Ms. Braginskaya."

Ms. Braginskya pointed out a seat near a long haired Asian boy, "Why don't you sit by Karou?" He blinked slowly at the mention of his name but his expression remained otherwise neutral as Sydney sat by him.

The teacher then launched into a long winded explanation of why it was important to take care of ones family even though your boss would let one see him despite... something or other...

The other kids in the classroom talked quietly and let their teacher ramble on.

Sydney could already tell she was going to hate this year.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Thankfully first period passed fairly smoothly and she quickly hopped up to head to her next class before an intimidated-looking boy of ash blonde hair stopped her. She spun around, an irked look upon her face.

"Hi-i," He stuttered out, "I'm R-raivis. My cousin told me y-you would need a guide?" Raivis' voice rose at the end making it sound like a question.

"Cousin?" Sydney inquired politely, internally alarm bells were ringing. _Who the heck is his cousin_?

"Edourd?" Upon receiving no look of recognition he clarified further. "Edourd Von Bock?"

_Ahhh, the counselor_. She relaxed slightly but her brow wrinkled in confusion. _Why would I need a guide? He already showed me everything_. Sydney took another look at his eager face and relented, "Ah yes, I have Algebra II next, can you take me to that class?"

At her acceptance of his help, the boy's face brightened and he lead the way proudly. Sydney rolling her eyes but patiently followed.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Sydney looked pleadingly at the clock, anxiously waiting for the minute hand to tell her it was time for lunch. The clock hand slowly inched closer and she tried to force herself to pay attention to the history teacher.

"…and then the Mongols elected a new great khan…."

She barely withheld a groan as she waited for the final five minutes of class to pass. As soon as the bell rang she bolted for the door before remembering that she had no idea where to go.

Sydney turned to Raivis, who had been surprisingly useful in getting her to her classes despite his clingy nature, for help. The boy was looking absentmindedly out of a window and she had to wave her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

He started when he realized he had zoned out. Sydney posed her question again, stomach grumbling faintly. Raivis answered, the exasperating stutter still present, "M-most of the h-high school and m-m-middle school students-s eat t-together on the Central Lawn."

He vaguely gestured in the general direction of the lawn. Sydney hastily thanked him and speed off, mentally reminding herself to ask him what was wrong later.

**AN: Thank you again to those who favorited/story alerted TCZ. It's nice to know people want to keep reading this. A very, very hearty thanks to Just a Janus and RandomHatTheif for reviewing. I love you guys.**

**Sorry, I meant to get this out earlier but the chapter refused to end itself so I had to split it in two. **

**Quick note about last chapter since I wasn't sure if I made it clear but the events in the nightmare never actually happened like that in real life but it was merely a combination of a lot of events that happened before condensed into one nightmare. One more thing - I'm not sure if I will have Sydney in a romantic relationship in this particular story as 13 seems a bit young but in the future who do you think she would/should end up with? Leave me a review to let me know or if you have any other questions/comments/concerns please, please review!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Lili ****Zwingli**** = Liechtenstein**

**Kiku Honda = Japan **

The Central Lawn was a pleasant place, almost perfectly symmetrical; it sat nestled between the middle and high school. Trees, shrubs, bushes and flowers dotted the turf and small picnic tables and grassy spots were conveniently available for students of both schools to eat on. She cautiously scanned the greens, observing students darting between buildings, tossing balls back and forth, laying down in the grass and a few eating at the tables.

"SYDNEY!"

She turned to the direction of the shout and noticed several small groups lounging on the grass in between the shade of two tall trees. She observed Adam and Mathew waving at her, and Alfred sat nearby with another boy who appeared to be of Asian descent. When they noticed Sydney they beckoned her over as well.

Quietly relieved she didn't have to worry about finding them, she headed over. Adam beamed at her and patted the ground in an offer to sit beside him. When she did, he wrapped a brotherly arm around her shoulders, drawing her closer, "Sooo, how do you like school so far?"

She elbowed him in the side and removed the offending arm, taking out her lunch and picking up a kiwi. "It's okay, I suppose. Too much homework though." Adam snickered and she scowled, swatting him with her free hand.

"Jerk."

Adam pulled a faked pained expression and withdrew, "But I was just about to offer you Mattie's assistance with your homework."

Mathew rolled his eyes, tsking at Adam before turning to Sydney, "Do you need help?"

She shrugged, "Maybe." She gestured to Adam, "But if I do it won't be from him."

Mathew smirked, "Probably for the best."

"Mattie how could you betray me like this?" Adam whined melodramatically, "I am so offended. It's not even funny."

"Can it, drama queen." Sydney retorted, once again elbowing the Australian. "Stop whining and tell me who Alfred's boyfriend is."

Adam and Mathew bent over sniggering, Adam shouted at Alfred, "Hey Al! Sydney agrees with us about Kiku."

Kiku gave Alfred a puzzled look and Alfred shot them an annoyed scowl, "If I wasn't so heroic I'd…" He paused looking at Sydney and amending his words cautiously "… punch you."

The two went back to their conversation, Alfred blatantly trying to ignore the guffaws from his siblings.

"So they aren't dating?" Sydney questioned.

Adam smirked, "Nope."

"Al likes him a lot though," Mathew added, still amused.

"We should try to get them together."

Sydney started at the arrival of Michelle, who flopped down into the grass beside Mathew, stretching out in a cat-like manner.

Mathew and Adam exchanged looks, "You've been spending too much time with Lili's Aunt." Adam declared.

The Canadian frowned, "Speaking of which - don't you two normally eat together?" he asked Michelle.

Michelle shrugged, not seeming particularly worried.

"I think she caught something, Lili was coughing a bit yesterday." Michelle rolled on to her stomach, reaching for a chip from Mathew, "Her brother probably made her stay home."

Adam turned to Sydney and waved at her food.

"Hey Princess, can I have a bite?"

"What did you just call me?" Sydney's eyes narrowed sharply and she moved her food out of his reach.

"I called you 'Princess'?" Adam stretched across and grabbed a kiwi. He eagerly bit it like an apple and abruptly pulled a puzzled face.

"Moron. You don't eat the skin." Sydney chastised, rolling her eyes.

Adam frowned and set the kiwi aside, opting instead to examine the rest of her lunch.

"So what do you think of your new nickname?"

"I hate it." Sydney declared firmly, crossing her arms and subconsciously surrendering her food to Adam's hogging.

He grunted in appreciation of the now open food.

"Hmm. What about Ney-Ney?" Adam inquired.

"Absolutely not." Sydney refused "How did you even come up with that?"

He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"Well I thought since Michelle got the first three letters I could take the last three, but 'ney' by itself sounds silly so…" Adam explained, using hand gestures to describe his name mutating process.

"Yeah, I get it." Sydney cut him off before he could elaborate further.

"You asked." Adam stated, stuffing more food into his mouth.

Sydney sighed, irritated at his need for a nickname and her rapidly disappearing lunch, "I don't understand why you can't use 'Syd' as well. I really don't care."

Adam rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Even if _you_ don't mind, Michelle does and that's a fight I'd rather avoid. It's just easier this way."

"Scared, Aussie?" Michelle taunted, smirking cheekily and inserting herself in the side conversation. She sat up, twisting away from her Canadian cousin, who had moved on to talking with Alfred and Kiku.

"Syd is mine." Michelle reached over, wrapping her arms around Sydney's waist, dragging her away from Adam.

Adam pulled his classic 'you just murdered a puppy' face and put a mild attempt in at getting her back.

Sydney turned crimson at the attention, face clearly demonstrating her discomfort.

"I don't belong to anyone." She steadily retorted.

Michelle chuckled, releasing the stubborn blonde, opting instead to ruffle her hair. Sydney scooted away slightly, moving subconsciously towards Adam.

"Just teasing." Michelle clarified. "I actually did have a request to make."

Sydney remained silent for a moment, before prompting her to continue. "Go on."

"I sorta forgot I have to baby-sit for the Oxenstierna's, so this weekend isn't going to work for our girl's night." Michelle smiled apologetically. "Is next weekend okay?"

Sydney shrugged. "I don't see a problem with that."

Michelle stood up, brushing off her skirt.

"Excellent. It's a date." She grabbed her lunch and departing, leaving Sydney and Adam alone once again.

"Sooooo." Adam drawled after an unnecessarily awkward pause. "What do classes do you have after lunch?"

Sydney mentally relaxed at the innocuous question. She had sensed that he really wanted to know more about this morning but she was gratefully he restrained himself.

"Um. French, English and Gym."

Mathew's head whipped around excitedly, "You're taking French?" he inquired eagerly.

Sydney and Adam leaned away from the elated aura surrounding the Canadian. Such enthusiasm was rarely seen in the blond.

"… yeah?" She responded hesitantly. "I took about of a year of it in New Zealand."

"C'est vrai? Quelle bonne nouvelle! Est-ce que tu dis Papa? Bien sur, il sait. C'est merveilleux." Mathew animatedly bombarded his sister with French.

"Oui, c'est tres bien." Sydney replied slowly, taking the time to search through her limited French vocabulary to find the proper words.

Mathew quickly realized her lack of knowledge.

"Sorry. I forgot you've only taken a year." His aura dimmed slightly. "Got a bit carried away there."

Feeling bad for killing Mathew's glee, Sydney looked downcast before Adam slapped a cheerful if somewhat misdirected hand on her back.

"I'm sure she would like to join French club Mattie." He offered comfortingly.

"Oh, I'd like that very much!" Sydney responded hastily, offering a tiny encouraging smile to Mathew.

Disaster averted narrowly averted and Mathew's pleasant demeanor restored, the rest of lunch passed in relative peace.

**AN: ****Lili's Aunt is Hungary and the Oxenstiernas are Tino (Finland), Berwald (Sweden) and Peter (Sealand). S****orry this chapter took so long. Next one should be sooner. Probably. Review for faster updates. **

**If my French is off please correct me: **

**Translations:**

_**C'est vrai? **__**Quelle bonne nouvelle! Est-ce que tu dis Papa? Bien sur, il sait. C'est merveilleux**_** - ****That's true? What great news! Did you tell Papa? Of course you did. It's truly wonderful**

_**Oui, c'est tres bien**__**-**_** Yes, it's very good. **


	7. Chapter 6

All in all the week had gone surprisingly smoothly, Sydney had adapted to her new school remarkably well. She and Raivis have formed the type of friendship that results when both members of the relationship lack the confidence to seek out other friends. Despite this uneasy alliance, the two have gotten along and The French Club has embraced Sydney with open arms, despite her lack of knowledge on the subject. Mathew enthusiastically embraced every opportunity he had to enhance Sydney's knowledge of French. The nightmares plaguing Sydney on her first night have not reappeared. Adam has come up with countless nicknames (all rejected) and in general all is well.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Arthur asked Francis, turning away from the steering wheel, his brow creased slightly in worry. "We haven't left her alone with them before."

Francis laughed lightly, and rubbed the Brit's forehead as if to erase the concerned creases, "No worries, mon cher" He pecked his cheek, "It's not like the others aren't used to us having date nights. It will be a good bonding experience for them." He chuckled carelessly, "Besides they have our numbers if anything goes terribly wrong." Francis snuck in another kiss "They will be fine. It's only one night."

And with a few more reassurances the Frenchman was able to coax Arthur to finally drive out of the garage.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Inside the kitchen the four Kirkland-Bonnefoy children were discussing plans for the evening around the island counter. Sydney and Mathew rested on stools while Adam and Alfred opted to sit on the counters instead.

"So what exactly do you guys do on these nights?" Sydney inquired as she reached for a kiwi from the fruit bowl on the counter.

Alfred shrugged "We order a pizza or something and make popcorn."

"And then watch movies until fairly late" Adam explained, staring at Sydney. "You _really_ like kiwis don't you?"

Sydney flushed and looked away, missing Adam's eyes widening in grand revelation.

"KIWI, My nickname for you can be _kiwi_… I'm brilliant." He grinned and high-fived Alfred in triumph.

Sydney, desperate for a change of subject poked Mathew teasingly "You stay up late, Mr. Goody-two-shoes?"

Mathew's ears turned bright red, "They don't mind if it's a weekend…." He explained quietly. Alfred laughed obnoxiously in response and slapped Mathew on the back.

"What Mattie means is what they don't know won't hurt 'em." Sydney quirked an eyebrow in question and Mathew nodded in agreement. She shrugged and chose not to press the matter.

"So what movie are we watching?"

Adam slid off the counter and picked up a set of three DVDs. "In honor of your homeland we are going to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

Sydney peeked in interest "All three?"

Adam and Alfred grinned "As much as we can stand!" Mathew groaned quietly and whacked his face against the counter.

Sydney turned to him in confusion, "You don't like Lord of the Rings?"

"Oh, I don't really care, _but_." He gestured to the high-fiving teens, who admittedly looked a bit crazy, "I know how they get when they have a goal like a movie marathon. They get a bit insane."

Alfred moved in appearing to be about to pat him on the back, but instead then grabbing him by the armpits and attempting to haul him into the living room.

"C'mon Matty, it'll be fun!"

His efforts resulting in a struggling Canadian whose flailing limbs resulted in several nearly knocked over a lamp. The two left in the kitchen stared as the spectacle concluded with Mathew plopped into a sofa and a blanket chucked at his face.

Sydney remained firmly rooted in her seat but when Adam gave her a feral smirk and approached her, she held her hands up in mock surrender.

"I'll go willingly." She hopped off the stool, snagging another kiwi as she went. He beamed brightly and tried to ruffle her hair as she brushed past him to go into the living room.

As she settled down on the sectional sofa, Alfred tossed another blanket at her while he set up the first movie. Adam snatched it up and parked himself beside her, grinning cheekily. Sydney rolled her eyes and yanked it back. Or at least she tried to; Adam kept the blanket in a death grip.

She tugged desperately, searching for control. "Mine."

"Lies, kiwi." Adam held tighter "It's _my_ blanket."

"_Oh it is on_!" Sydney hissed "No one. And I mean _no one_-"

"GUYS!" Alfred shouted, and then made a silencing gesture "Shut the heck up. Movie's starting." He turned his rapt attention to the opening sequence, head resting in his hands mouth hanging slightly open.

Mathew sighed and rolled his eyes, tucking his own blanket around himself.

"Why don't you two _share_?" He whispered before he too was shushed by Alfred who muttered something about not being able to hear Galadriel.

Sydney glared at Adam who once again offered her a charming smile. He leaned in close and murmured in her ear "You want to shaaarrrreeee?" He shook the blanket invitingly.

"No." She turned away from him, crossing her arms in refusal and tried to concentrate on the movie.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Sydney tried to suppress yet another shiver. She strongly suspected Adam had Alfred turn down the heat when the American had gotten up to pay for the pizza. Annoyed with her paranoia she shifted her attention to Alfred, who had whipped out his phone about an hour into the first movie and was texting someone.

Despite the fact that he occasionally glanced up at the screen during a loud scene, most of the blonde's energy was channeled into the person on the other end of his texts.

Sydney leaned towards Alfred and looked over his shoulder before he shifted to cover up his phone. She waggled her eyebrows suggestively "Who are you texting?"

Mathew responded for his brother "Kiku."

Sydney shrugged and she resumed watching the film. Unfortunately, she lost her distraction and she found herself shivering. Adam smirked when he noticed her predicament but instead of repeating his offer he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Carefully watching her from the corner of his eye, the Australian waited patiently for his chance. Upon seeing her shoulders relax slightly and her guard lowered, he pounced. He quickly snaked an arm around her waist and pulled her close in a tight embrace, wrapping the blanket around both of them.

Sydney glared at him furiously, and for a second it appeared as if she would demand her release but at the last moment she changed her mind. Adam grinned as she relaxed in his hold, but tried not to appear to please with himself so that she would not change her mind.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

At eleven, Mathew was out like a light, sleeping on his side peacefully.

At twelve, Adam noticed Sydney leaning in a bit more, in another hour he noticed her starting to snuggle, in thirty more minutes the child was fast asleep. He grinned at the slight cooing noises she made when she was sleeping and eventually he found himself dozing off.

At four, Alfred finally found himself tiring once Kiku had decided to go to sleep. So at last all four children were asleep with two hours remaining of the final movie.

**AN: See? I kept my promise to update faster. hahaha. And this chapter feels off, but I still got it up in record time which is good, yes?**

**Why am I so ridiculously happy? Because I got reviews~ **

**Thank you very very much to Zyan, Just a Janus, Arthur Kirkland-Bonnifoy and The reviewer that never was.**

**As I can't personally respond to anonymous reviews (sad face) For The reviewer that never was: The main conflict will start soon, I promise. Just try to bare with me - I get carried away with exposition sometimes. **


	8. Chapter 7

"Oh sorry!" The Latvian apologized, embarrassed to have run into Sydney for the fourth time that day. Sydney sighed in frustration.

"What are you even thinking about?"

"Stuff." Raivis responded vaguely.

Sydney grumbled again, and tried to ignore the boy. Her efforts worked until Raivis bumped into her again.

_FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! _Sydney screamed mentally, avoiding expressing her anger physically at the cowering boy.

"You know, if something is bothering you, you can tell me?" She patiently explained.

Raivis hesitantly nodded.

"So what's going on?"

"I-I ummm," Sydney's eye twitched slightly at his inability to say anything plainly. "Iknowyouaren'treallyagirl!"

Sydney stopped abruptly and blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected _that. _He quickly came to his senses and frantically looked around to see if anyone had heard Raivis' outburst. Slightly relieved that the hallway they were in was abandoned, he tensed up when he looked back at the Latvian boy.

Odd, Raivis hadn't really struck her as the observant type. If anything he seemed rather unaware that some of things he said were offensive.

"What makes you think that?" He asked sweetly, restraining himself from running away for fear that would confirm Raivis' suspicion.

"Eduord showed me your file."

Sydney's eyes narrowed to slits. "I thought those were private. He could get fired for showing those to random people."

"..." Sydney stared coldly at Raivis, who winced slightly. "You won't tell anyone."

The nervous-wreck nodded quickly, immediately bolting when Sydney released him from his gaze. As Sydney watched the back of the fleeing boy, he felt the walls closing in on him as his surroundings faded into black.

_"What do you mean, they just 'found out'?" The woman laughed humorlessly. "People don't 'just find out'. You messed up. Again." _

_ The boy whimpered, curling into a ball._

_ "I'm sorry Mommy." He plead, tears on the brink of falling from his eyes._

_ "You realize people will want to separate us if they find out?" His mother explained patiently, running a soothing hand over the back of her son. "You want to be with Mummy forever, right?"_

_ The boy nodded tentatively._

_ "You know Mummy loves you?"_

_ The boy nodded again._

_ "And this is why you must not mess up again?"_

_ The boy hesitated, unsure what his mother meant, but he quickly nodded when he felt the familiar tightening of a hand clenching on the back of his shirt._

_ "Good." The once comforting arms extended a claw-like hand to harshly pull the young boy's chin to meet her eyes._

_ "Next time there _will_ be punishment."_

"Sydney? Are you OK?" An anxious voice inquired belonging to a sweet blond girl, that she couldn't remember seeing before.

Sydney blinked, clearing her thoughts and displayed a barely forced smile.

"I'm fine."

This was bad, Sydney thought worriedly. If she was blacking out during the day, She was definitely going to have nightmares tonight. She couldn't afford to have Adam find out anything else.

"I'm Lili."

Sydney shook herself slightly, reminding herself she wasn't alone.

"Ah, Hi." Sydney's brow contorted, the name sounded familiar. "Wait, aren't you Michelle's friend?"

"Yes," Lili answered politely, "Sorry, she already told me about you."

"No problem." Sydney shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably.

"Uh, shouldn't you hurry so you don't miss your bus?" Lili suggested after an awkward pause.

Sydney muttered something angrily under her breath, thanking the blond before dashing out in the direction of the school buses.

…ooo000OOO000ooo…

Sydney paced his room nervously, mind anxiously thinking now that he was alone again.

If Adam heard him sleep talking and found out that he wasn't really a girl, he would panic and tell everyone and then no one would want to be around him anymore. Just like before. He absolutely could not have any nightmares. But it wasn't like he had any control over his night terrors, right?

You can't dream if you don't sleep, Sydney recalled, some of his nervous tension leaving his body and he collapsed on the ground in relief at finding a solution.

Despite his relief, Sydney felt crushing guilt at supper and he avoiding speaking. This fact went silently observed by everyone at the table, but no one mentioned the odd muteness plaguing the child.

That night, Sydney was able to stay up, quietly thinking for a few hours before he felt his eyes beginning to droop. He pinched himself several times, keeping himself up another two hours before lightly dozing off. Jolting awake after his thirty minute cat-nap he snuck downstairs to get ice to keep himself up. The piercing chill kept the boy barely up until morning.

The next day, he dragged himself slowly through each class. Sydney accidentally fell asleep for a bit in Mrs. Katyusha's class, but his own dark dreams awoke him before the oblivious Ukrainian noticed.

The rest of the periods where a self-inflicted struggle to stay awake and beat the clock. The nightmares suffered in the brief time he did sleep convinced him that he could not go to sleep tonight either and yet another long, exhausting night followed.

**AN: Yeah, this one is a bit short and depressing, sorry. Good news is I did the math and I'm over a fourth of the way done with this story! Yay! *sigh* Better stuff to come! Eventually... **

**Please review because reviews = happy author = motivation = faster updates!**


	9. Chapter 8

At lunch Sydney's abnormally sluggish behavior did not go unnoticed by her family and friends.

"You seem really tired, Syd." Mathew pointed out as the teen stifled yet another yawn.

She shrugged noncommittally. "I didn't get much sleep last night." Sydney responded, waving her hand in an attempt at a vague explanatory gesture, accidentally smacking Alfred. The American turned around to yell at the offender but stopped when he saw the droop of Sydney's eyes.

"Hey Kiwi, can we talk for a bit?" Adam asked, his unusually serious face unnoticed by the drowsy teen.

"Mmmm, su-re." Her answer interrupted by a yawn.

Adam sighed and hauled Sydney up, dragging her over to a corner of the courtyard that was mostly empty.

"Why are you so tired?" He inquired in a low and urgent voice, both hands on her shoulders.

"I told you," Sydney responded, almost irritated but too exhausted to properly muster the feeling, "I didn't get much sleep last ni-"

"DAMMIT," Adam turned away, before finishing in a slightly calm tone,

"Dammit Sydney, what am I doing wrong?" He absent-mindedly ran a hand through his hair, focusing back on Sydney. "I offered to talk about it, I offered to help and this is what you do? Tell me why you won't sleep."

Jolted from her lethargy temporarily by the shock of Adam swearing at her, Sydney gulped deeply before eeking out, "I figured if I didn't have anymore nightmares I wouldn't bother you." She looked away from his intense gaze guiltily. "I didn't know how to stop so I figured if I didn't sleep I wouldn't dream and so no nightmares and it..." she trailed off once she realized she was rambling.

"Sorry."

Adam sighed, "Why would you think it was bothering me?"

Sydney didn't reply at first, choosing to merely gnaw nervously on her lower lip.

"This isn't the first time someone has offered me help." she spoke quietly, leaving Adam to lean in, in order to hear. "They never really mean it. I'm not worth the trouble it would cause you to fix me."

"Stop it."

Sydney looked up in surprise.

"I care." Adam firmly gripped her shoulders, "It doesn't matter what happened to you before!"

He shook her shoulders again.

"All that matters is I heard you call for help, maybe it was in your sleep and it probably wasn't meant for me - I know I'd want someone better to help - but I promise I will stick around pissing you off, until you finally get whatever is bothering you handled."

Sydney blinked in shock at the outburst.

"Understand?" Adam's voice broke slightly at the end, making his desperation more apparent.

She nodded silently, firmly meeting his gaze.

The rest of the day Adam was annoyingly clingy and when he wasn't available Mathew or Alfred mysteriously popped up to be with her. All throughout supper Adam bombarded Sydney with questions to keep her up. It failed and Sydney fell asleep in her soup, forcing Francis to carry her up to bed.

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

Sydney awoke abruptly, chills on his arms, face drained of color. He started at the twirl of the mobile on the corner of his room.

The blasted nightmares had returned.

It was a truly alarming development but at the time all he really wanted was the soothing comfort of someone who cares.

Well he had offered...

...but he was probably asleep...

... He _promised_...

Sydney sighed and decided to go for it. He quietly slid out of bed, grabbing his stuffed sheep and padding lightly over to Adam's room.

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

"Adam, Adam." Sydney whispered, shaking the Aussie slightly.

"Not nooooowwwww Alfred." Adam groaned, eyes clamped shut, "Its too early to prank Mathew."

"I'm not Alfred."

Adams eye shot open at this.

"Kiwi?"

"You promised to help. I had a bad dream and I don't want to be alone."

Adam looked fully at the cute picture before him. Sydney stood above him, in a light green nightgown, nervously clinging to her stuffed sheep, face tinted pink in embarrassment at having to ask for help.

"Wanna sleep in here tonight?" He pulled back his covers, gesturing for her to go beside him. She fidgeted slightly.

"We can talk in the morning."

Sydney nodded, tentatively slipping in next to Adam, hesitantly snuggling closer to his warmth.

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

"Morning."

Sydney frowned and cracked open an eye, to see Adam's face unnervingly close.

"GGAAAHHHH!" She jolted up, narrowly missing banging her forehead into Adam's.  
>Panting she held a hand to her chest.<p>

"Geeze." She placed a calming had on her chest and scowled at the teen, who had moved to sit innocently at the foot of his bed. "What time is it?"

"One." Adam responded matter-of-factly. "In the afternoon."

"One?" Sydney asked in disbelief. "Why on earth didn't you wake me up sooner? Oh my goodness, I'm going to be late for school."

"Relax, Kiwi." Adam explained condescendingly, "It's the weekend so no school and you needed to catch up on sleep after pulling that little _stunt_."

Sydney shuddered slightly at the dark look he gave her, drawing his covers closer.

"You didn't tell them?" She squeaked out.

"Against my better judgment, I didn't." Adam sighed running a hand through his hair, "I really don't see why you don't want them to know."

When Sydney didn't answer, Adam huffed in frustration.

"Well, you should get something to eat then, I imagine you're starving."

Sydney grunted noncommittally and the two proceeded to the kitchen.

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

"So where is everybody?" Sydney asked as Adam handed her lunch. The house was unusually silent and Arthur had been the only person she'd seen. The rustled of pages flipping of his newspaper, the chirping of birds and the hum of someone's lawn mower were the only noises disrupting the tranquil environment.

Adam shrugged "Alfred had soccer practice, Mathew is at some photography club and Francis had to go in today working."

"Do you want to talk about last night?" He asked, voice teetering on the edge of disappointment.

"Not really." Sydney muttered, "Do you want to talk about how _you_became an orphan?"

"Well, you won't tell me anything about you." Adam sniffed. "So I don't see why I should have to share."

A tedious silence stretched afterwards, interrupted by a loud battle cry.

The battle cry was followed by a furious, "ALLLLLL-FRED!"

The American in question gleefully charged into the kitchen holding a water gun and grinning widely.

"THE HERO ALWAYS WINS, IGGY!"

The thick eyebrowed male harrumphed and came hurtling after Alfred, knocking over a lamp in his haste. As he ran past Adam and Sydney, they noticed he was soaking wet, most likely Alfred's work.

"YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, YOU RASCAL!"

The thumping that followed indicated that the great chase has moved upstairs. Adam and Sydney were mute in shock for a moment before the two burst into tear inducing laughter.  
>The chuckles, giggles and guffaws issued continued until both were on the floor, grasping their chest for air.<p>

"Oh my." Sydney heaved, still amused, a wide grin spread across her face.

"I have the best older brother, ever." Adam declared proudly, before looking at Sydney in amazement. "You should smile more often."

"I- What?" Sydney stuttered, confused by the sudden topic change.

"Smiling." Adam explained. "You should do it more."

"Well, I don't usually have much to smile about." Sydney slowly justified.

"Don't _I _make you smile?" Adam asked, gently teasing.

"Not really," Sydney shrugged, delivering a crushing ego blow. "You aren't as funny as you think you are."

Masking genuine hurt he boasted, "How about this? If I can't make you laugh in one week you have to tell me how you became an orphan, but if I lose I have to tell you my story."

Sydney stared suspiciously at Adam for a second before extending a hand for a shake of agreement. The deal sealed, the two finished lunch.

_This should be no problem, _they both thought confidently.

**AN: Hopefully this is slightly happier? Comic relief in the form of randomness always works.**

**Thank you to 'The reviewer who never was' for reviewing - Edourd is actually Estonia and the explanation for that is rather simple, Raivis lied, he saw the file lying on Edourd's desk and he went through it. Edourd would get fired regardless of it being an accident so Raivis was right to be concerned, I did think about writing a bit about that but it didn't work with the timeline I had in mind.**

**Interesting things are coming my friends, but faster updates are not because school interferes with my writing time. Review anyway?**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sunday, October 9 (Seven days left)****: **

Adam wearily opened the door to his well loved room. He absent-mindedly examined his trophies and baubles before sinking into his cushy swivel chair, fiddling with a few of the oddities scattered on his desk, utterly frustrated with his failed attempts to make Sydney laugh.

_Didn't all thirteen year olds find fart jokes funny?_

Sadly, the whoopee cushion on Alfred's chair had not cut it. Well, Alfred did find it enormously funny and had congratulated Adam him after supper. But Sydney just gave him a bothered look, having correctly assumed that it was Adam's fault.

She answered Adam in single syllables for the rest of the meal and ignored his further efforts after supper to engage her.

Frustrated, Adam was forced to conclude that he would have to try harder. He pulled out a drawer and rummaged through, searching for a notebook to record his ideas.

He sat for thirty minutes, thinking and drawing an utter blank. Frustrated at his lack of ideas, he grabbed his notebook and set out to interview his family and friends.

Two hours later, a game plan had been established:

Monday: Knock-knock jokes from Mathew  
>Tuesday: Regular jokes courtesy of Arthur, Michelle, and Lili<br>Wednesday: Physical humor, Alfred assisting  
>Thursday: Something anime related, Kiku hadn't specified.<br>Friday: Laughing gas, Adam's last choice, but he was confident Sydney would laugh before then

Adam nodded firmly. _No way could this fail_.

**Monday, October 10 (Six days left): **

That morning Mathew ceremoniously bestowed his joke book to Adam, explaining that the best jokes had been highlighted. Adam smiled gleefully and thanked his brother.

On the bus he chose to sit by Alfred in order to give himself a chance to read through the jokes and select his 'weapons' of choice. Convinced that he'd found some gems, he smugly overlooked Sydney at lunch in an attempt to lure her into a false sense of security. But on the bus ride home he struck with one of his self-proclaim 'joke-bombs'.

Adam poked Sydney to get her attention; she shot him an irritable glare, as she was still annoyed at his refusal to give her an explanation for why he wanted to sit by Alfred. Undeterred by Sydney's sour attitude Adam dropped his first bomb.

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?" Sydney grumbled, reluctantly humoring Adam.

"Banana."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'?" Adam asked, his brow wrinkled in confusion.

"I will not be a part of this joke." Sydney asserted, crossing her arms and turning away.

Adam muttered under his breathe "...and that was my best one..."

"Knock-knock."

Sydney sighed. "Who's there?"

"Madame."

"Madame who?"

"Madame foot's stuck in the door."

Sydney gave him a skeptical look. "Is this really the best you can do?"

**Tuesday, October 11 (Five days left): **

The next day Adam had more jokes prepared. He had actually tested these out on Alfred and the results had been quite satisfactory (In retrospective this probably was not Adam's most intelligent move, considering the results of his first night.) He once again waited until later in the day, in order to give himself enough practice. Today, he decided to ambush Sydney after supper as she tried to head to her room.

"Hey Kiwi, What do you call it when a blond dyes her hair?" Adam paused for dramatic effect. "Artificial Intelligence."

"Adam,_ I'm_blond and so is the rest of your family."

"Righttttt." Adam rubbed the back of his head, moving along to the next joke quickly. "I murdered someone with a deck of cards, I am now in solitaire confinement."

Sydney rolled her eyes and tried to push past Adam, but he moved to follow her.

"How do you tell the difference between a bad golfer and a bad sky diver?" Adam asked, following closely as she turned into her room. "One says _whack_! 'Darn!' and the other says 'Darn!' _whack_!"

"Adam, for crying out loud, I have a test I need to study for!" Sydney exclaimed, throwing her hands up in annoyance.

"But I spent a _really_long time finding these." Adam whined.

"Go." Sydney pointed to her door and made a shooing gesture.

Adam sullenly walked out, metaphorical tail between his legs.

**Wednesday (Four days left): **

After the bombing on Tuesday night, Adam had been significantly discouraged, but Alfred convinced him that this idea had to be enacted, because there was 'no way' it could fail!

So Adam and Alfred snuck into the middle and high school and left dozens of carefully rigged banana peels. The two quietly gave their approval at the strategic places, confident at least one slip would catch Sydney's eye.

Adam, had not, however planned on being the first victim. The whoosh of air as his feet where suddenly displaced sent Adam landing firmly on his bum. Thankfully the painful incident occurred in front of Sydney and she actually smiled widely for a second mouth, almost opening in mirth. However she quickly caught herself and stalked off afterwards, arms crossed in indignation, leaving Adam in his ridiculously pathetic pose.

Adam would like to have claimed the smile counted, as none of his previous antics had even had close to this effect. Sadly, he knew Sydney would not accept defeat this easily. Her determination was frustrating – otherwise Adam was positive he would have won by now. Surely her history wasn't_ that_ bad. As painful as it was to admit, Adam was starting to feel a bit depressed at the lack of emotion from Sydney. He hadn't thought about how much he would miss her expressions if he didn't win right away.

Mathew eventually helped him up after he and Alfred recovered from their raucous laughter.

The rest of the day was filled with truly remarkable demonstrations of poor coordination courtesy of the bananas, but regrettably none had cracked Sydney's uncompromisingly stoic disposition.

**Thursday (Three days left):**

Thursday backfired horribly. Somehow Sydney discovered Adam's list (Adam suspected Mathew told her about his notebook) and she avoided him like the plague.

She managed to get herself 'stuck' in French Club until dinner time, and then she took an early bedtime, granting Adam no time to force her to watch Kiku's stuff.

**Friday (Two days left): **

That day Adam awoke find a note taped to his forehead. Puzzled, he quickly ripped it off.

_Laughing gas is cheating, Adam._  
><em>Sorry to ruin your fun.<em>

_ Love,_  
><em> Papa<em>

Cursing to himself, Adam quickly tried to come up with another plan, but poor planning and the unsupported effort left him with no workable ideas.

As Sydney had already figured out his plan had failed she deemed it safe to be near the rest of her family. Adam was reduced to starting every sentence with 'oooh la la' and skipping as much as possible in a desperate attempt to pull out a laugh.

He definitely got a hefty amount of inquisitive stares but Sydney's inshatterable stoicism was not to be broken.

Feeling remarkably discouraged, Adam suddenly recalled Sydney's long awaited 'girl's night' was coming up. A sly grin on his face appeared, and feeling slightly more encouraged he called Michelle.

"_Who is it_?" A sweet, most definitely fake, voice asked.

"Adam."

"_Oh_." The polite tone dropped and Michelle's voice quickly shifted to a more natural tone. "_What do you want?_"

"I have a favor to ask." He began tentatively.

"_I figured_." Michelle snarked wryly. "_Go on._"

"Can you find out if Sydney is ticklish for me?" Adam pleaded, fingers crossed.

"_I might..._" Michelle responded thoughtfully. "_What's in it for me?_"

Adam froze, he had anticipated the question, but his mind had yet to provide an answer.

Correctly assuming the silence was due to thinking Michelle offered.

"_How about you let me in early so I can look through Syd's stuff before we go shopping_?"

"Sounds good," Adam agreed, blatantly relieved.

"_We have a deal then._" He could practically feel Michelle's smug grin through the phone. "_Pleasure doing business with you._"

Adam nodded and quickly hung up, sinking to the wall in exhausted relief.

**AN: This one is a bit short, I know but the next one is longer. I think. Quick note on the names, I know the human names are sometimes confusing so I have a guide to who's who in my profile. **

**Thank you to those who subscribed, favorited and reviewed~ Pavlova, kiwifruit and cookies for you all. **

**As always reviews and feedback would be much appreciated. Consider it your good deed of the day.**


	11. Chapter 10

Dreaming pleasantly for a change, Sydney subconsciously savored his temporary break from his nightmares.

Unfortunately the blissful peace was not meant to last.

Sydney groaned as he felt someone shake him awake, and a feeble attempt to swat his assaulter was made but the mysterious attacker dodged his groggy efforts.

Sydney groaned and pulled his sheets over his head to hide himself.

"Well, that won't do." The voice declared, and Sydney felt his sheets yanked out off and he curled in on himself in an attempt to gather some of the comforting warmth that had been so harshly removed.

"Adam warned me you were grumpy in the morning."

Sydney grudgingly sat up, a slight blush gracing cheeks, hesitantly cracked his eyes open, "Michelle?"

The teen laughed and ruffled his hair playfully, "The one and only, Syd."

Sydney flopped back into bed, burying his head in his pillow, his irritated response muffled, "What the heck are you doing in my room?"

Michelle gave him an affronted look, "You've forgotten so soon?"

"Forgotten what?" he moaned.

She tittered merrily "Today is our girls day." her tone shifted to demanding, "We have a very busy day so I suggest you get moving."

Michelle's eyes narrowed to slits when she heard Sydney say something that sounded very close to 'give me ten freaking minutes.'

As she headed out the door, she warned, "You can have seven. After that, I'll get one of the guys." 

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

Sydney was barely able to snag a kiwi before she was shoved into the brunette's car and they sped off in her car at speeds that were questionably legal.

Once they arrived at the mall, the teen was hurried into the first store. Thankfully, the heart pounding pace set that morning slowed to allow her time to pick out some clothes.

Sydney carefully reviewed a wide range if outfits before selecting two she enjoyed. Then she went to find a clerk to ask where the fitting rooms were. As she politely posed her query, Michelle approached her with a large pile of clothes clutched in her hands.

"Are you really going to try all of those on?" Sydney asked incredulously.

"What?" Michelle blinked and frowned, before laughing and shoving the pile into Sydney's arms "Oh no. _These_ are for _you."_

She glared at her companion, "Thanks a bundle" she retorted, voice dripping with sarcasm, before she was pushed into the dressing room.

Sydney heaved a deep sigh and began changing into the first outfit, a sweet pink, short sleeved blouse over a white camisole with brown corduroy pants with white stitching.

She stepped out to find Michelle sitting just outside the changing rooms. She grinned and gave an approving gesture before motioning for her to move on to another set. Gradually the outfits blended into another with just the memory of the thumbs up or a frown of disapproval to guide her through the tremendous pile of clothes.

The stores that followed passed in a hurried blur of pants, shorts, sweaters, jackets, shirts, capris, blouses, camisoles, and coats until Sydney was ready to collapse of exhaustion.

To her relief, Michelle seemed to be satisfied with the clothing purchases made when she declared they were ready for lunch.  
>After getting their food (and laughing at Sydney's excitement at finding a kiwi-themed restaurant) Michelle sat daintily down. Sydney flopped into her seat.<p>

Michelle smirked. "You seem tired."

Sydney sighed, "I'm not used to 'power shopping', but at least we're finished."

"Oh we aren't done yet." The brunette added, bending over to rummage through her bag for a list.

"What?" Sydney gaped in disbelief.

"We still have accessories." Michelle explained. She looked back up to see the horror struck face of Sydney, staring bleakly at her tormentor.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you aren't." Sydney bitterly retorted, awakened from her shocked stupor and temper returning with a vengeance.

"True, but I can pretend I'm sorry if it wo-"

"No. It would not." Sydney insisted, crossing her arms.

Michelle sighed, face _almost _guilty, if it weren't terribly obvious that she was fighting down a smirk.

"Well, Lili is coming in thirty minutes and she's not big on long shopping sprees, if it makes you feel any better." Michelle offered hopefully.

"Not really." Sydney grumbled.

Despite her initial misgivings, Lili's arrival had speed up the shopping process significantly and they were able to conclude their shopping endeavors at a somewhat reasonable hour. Well, reasonable for Michelle. Sydney firmly believed that an additional four hours of shopping was unnecessarily excessive. Lili seemed to be neutral on just about everything which was somewhat frustrating, but when she did form an opinion, things moved much faster. 

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

"So what do you do exactly, at sleepovers?" Sydney asked as he set his borrowed sleeping bag down, rolling it out.

"Well," Michelle tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Paint nails, watch movies and talk. Did I miss anything Lili?"

Lili smiled angelically, "I don't think so." she responded sweetly.

"What do you talk about?" Sydney inquired, still puzzled.

Michelle shrugged, "Girl stuff."

"Like?" Sydney questioned, an edge of annoyance creeping into his voice.

"Let's play truth or dare!" Lili suggested, chirpily.

The other two teens stared at the unusually assertive statement from Lili.

"Sure," They slowly responded in unison, suspicion tinting their reply.

"I don't like conflict." Lili responded, by way of explanation, "May I go first?"

Michelle shrugged and Sydney nodded.

"Excellent. Alright, Truth or Dare, Michelle?"

"Truth."

"What is your most embarrassing experience?" 

...ooo000OOO000ooo...

The dares grew progressively sillier from singing 'Row your boat' in opera style to licking the Bonnefoy's cat. The three collapsed into a pile of giggles every time a new challenge was issued, and as everyone relaxed Michelle slipped in her strategic question.

"So Syd," Michelle began in a sly tone that would have made Sydney suspicious had it been earlier than two in the morning. "Are you ticklish?"

"Umm..." Sydney muttered nervously.

"You know you have to tell the truth," Lili added helpfully, subtly winking at Michelle.

Sydney sighed, mentally surrendering.

"Yes."

"Let's test that theory!" Michelle exclaimed enthusiastically, leaning over to attack her victim.

Sydney squeaked and tried to flee but Lili held her while Michelle tickled, much to the brunette's delight Sydney appeared to be ticklish pretty much everywhere.

They eventually let her go and the questions progressed, leaving the little incident forgotten. At least that's what Michelle hoped happened as she slipped away to uphold her part of the deal with Adam.


End file.
